714 views
in Articles by
A public corporation is a business whose securities are traded on the public stock exchanges, such as the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq. A private company is held solely by its owners and is not traded publicly.  When the shareholders of a private business receive the periodical financial reports, they are entitled to assume that the company's financial statements and footnotes are prepared in accordance with GAAP. Otherwise the president of chief officer of the business should clearly warn the shareholders that GAAP have not been followed in one or more respects. The content of a private business's annual financial report is often minimal. It includes the three primary financial statements - the balance sheet, income statement and statement of cash flows. There's generally no letter from the chief executive, no photographs, no charts.

In contrast, the annual report of a publicly traded company has more bells and whistles to it. There are also more requirements for reporting. These include the management discussion and analysis (MD&A) section that presents the top managers' interpretation and analysis of the business's profit performance and other important financial developments over the year.

Another section required for public companies is the earnings per share (EPS). This is the only ratio that a public business is required to report, although most public companies report a few others as well. A three-year comparative income statement is also required.

Many publicly owned businesses make their required filings with the SEC, but they present very different annual financial reports to their stockholders. A large number of public companies include only condensed financial information rather than comprehensive financial statements. They will generally refer the reader to a more detailed SEC financial report for more specifics.

Please log in or register to reply to this topic.

Related topics

0 replies 721 views
posted in Articles by SleepyFledgling
0 replies 667 views
posted in Articles by Knighthawk
0 replies 514 views
posted in Articles by GraveGrass
0 replies 563 views
posted in Articles by DopeyPotato
0 replies 717 views
posted in Articles by VoyageHooper
0 replies 714 views
posted in Articles by Falconjurer
0 replies 684 views
posted in Articles by Emufasa
0 replies 741 views
posted in Articles by PositiveVoid
0 replies 671 views
posted in Articles by OpinionOwl
0 replies 781 views
posted in Articles by GroundHurricane
0 replies 562 views
posted in Articles by Scorpeon
0 replies 1,135 views
posted in Articles by Cybora
0 replies 595 views
posted in Articles by VirtualAssassin
0 replies 579 views
posted in Articles by Robottom
0 replies 577 views
posted in Articles by Catnip
0 replies 3,587 views
posted in Articles by Octopixy
0 replies 1,080 views
posted in Articles by HairyMagpie
0 replies 1,109 views
posted in Articles by ShowDolphin
0 replies 716 views
posted in Articles by GrizzlyFlash
0 replies 752 views
posted in Articles by BeautifulWolf
0 replies 1,052 views
posted in Articles by FrighteningTwinkles
0 replies 771 views
posted in Articles by Wallaby
0 replies 724 views
posted in Articles by Celestiger
0 replies 755 views
posted in Articles by TrustyKitty
0 replies 679 views
posted in Articles by SwiftHeroine
0 replies 688 views
posted in Articles by Sumogre
0 replies 716 views
posted in Articles by Mosquiche
0 replies 671 views
posted in Articles by Tabooccaneer
0 replies 1,057 views
posted in Articles by Sassassin
0 replies 985 views
posted in Articles by GamerAlpaca
0 replies 765 views
posted in Articles by MysteryWasp
0 replies 866 views
posted in Articles by GreedySmile
0 replies 716 views
posted in Articles by BumblingBee
0 replies 615 views
posted in Articles by Herogue
0 replies 640 views
posted in Articles by Dingopher
0 replies 548 views
posted in Articles by Butcherry
0 replies 578 views
posted in Articles by PlaySeal
0 replies 557 views
posted in Articles by ForceSoldier
0 replies 550 views
posted in Articles by UncleRhino
...